(Photo of autumn leaves by Jakub Sejkora via Unsplash)

#288: How many hours of television do you watch in a week? A month? A year? Well, that depends on whether the husband and I are binge-watching a show…we might watch a whole season in a week and then not watch any TV at all for a couple of months!

#289: What is the biggest obstacle that stands in your way right now? Probably lack of time. If only I didn’t have to sleep, I could get so much more done.

#290: What do you sometimes pretend you understand that you really don’t? Coding. I do try, but right now I’m happy if I can figure out how to turn a photo into HTML with a clickable link. Past that, my eyes start glazing over.

#291: What do you like most about your job? What do you dislike most about your job? I’ve made a couple of great friends at my job. But I dislike pretty much everything else about it—the hours, the overall boredom of it, etc. I’d prefer something more creative.

#292: What’s something new you recently learned about yourself? That I only like raking up all those pretty autumn leaves in theory. I recently spent three hours spent raking the yard, only to watch a lot of the golden, crunchable, pesky damn autumn leaves blow right back into the yard in a windstorm. Now I think I would be happy to pay someone else to do it.

#293: In one sentence, how would you describe your relationship with your mother? I’d say we’re good friends. :)

#294: What was the most defining moment in your life during this past year? When I sat down and figured out exactly what I needed to do to move forward on the career path that would make me happiest. I knew I wanted to move into writing full-time but I’d been wavering over whether that was a “real” enough job and whether I shouldn’t pursue something else. But I felt like I got so much confirmation from the universe that the plans I was making were worth pursuing, and I’m so much happier already.

When I started blogging way back in 2009, my list of blog tools basically amounted to a) Blogger.com and b) my brain. That’s it! I knew basically nothing about how to create, maintain, or grow a blog. Fast-forward several years and I’d like to think that I’ve radically stepped up my game—but even so, there are a few awesome blog tools that I only recently discovered, and I wish I’d started using years ago! From photos to social media, there’s so much that goes into the day-to-day running of a website, but these tools make that job easier.

Do you read the book first, or watch the movie? I try to read the book first, but sometimes that means I put off watching the movie for a loooong time! Here are ten book-to-movie adaptations I have yet to watch, even though I’ve already read the books and should really just get on with it already! Link up your own list over at The Broke and the Bookish, and leave me your recommendations in the comments!

The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green: The book was good, but I just don’t know if I liked it enough to also watch the movie. I’m just not that in love with love stories.

Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn: I loved the book and am afraid the movie won’t come close!

The Martian, by Andy Weir: The book had a lot of hardcore science-speak in it, so I’m hoping the movie will be easier to digest.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams: I just did not click with this book, but everyone else seems to love it, so I’m wondering if I’d enjoy the movie more?

The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak: Another book I adored, so I’ve put off watching the movie.

The Double, by Jose Saramago: This book was good but also really weird, so I’m not sure if I’d enjoy the movie or not.

Stardust, by Neil Gaiman: Not sure there was enough of a story to support a full-length book, much less a movie, but curious to see how Gaiman looks on the big screen!

Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro: I wonder if it’d as hard to follow the flashbacks in the film as it was in the book.

Bridget Jones’ Diary, by Helen Fielding: Laughed out loud at these! And they have Mr. Darcy Colin Firth in them.

The Road, by Cormac McCarthy: This was not a fun book, so I imagine the movie is not fun either, but it was still a great read and I’d like to see how it plays out on the screen.

I was kind of surprised to look back and see how many books I read last month! I had a few good picks but for the most part it was a really “meh” month. Here’s what I loved, liked, and didn’t click with.